The Many Ways of Courtship
by Kuroi Tenshi1
Summary: Quatre's itching to tell Trowa how he feels but his mind's a blank on how to go about it. Fortunately (or not) Kathy comes to his rescue with sure-fire ways to snag the sexy pilot. "Strategies" from Kare-Kano...


**The Many Ways of Courtship**

By Kuroi Tenshi

                Quatre Raberba Winner sat on the windowsill and sighed. Outside the window, the sun was slowly setting, casting red-orange glow over horizon.

                He glared at the wide expanse of nothingness in front of him. There was nothing there, except the breathtaking view of the ocean and the majestic forest near it. But he ignored it.

                The door of his room opened with a creak but he paid no heed to the newcomer. He had too many things on his mind right now to waste his time testing his patience to its limits. So he opted to pointedly ignore the cheerful brunette who was peeking in the room, in search of her new victim.

                "Quatre?" Katherine Cortez called out, her voice echoing in the large and spacious room that served as the Winner heir's room. No answer.

                Kathy sighed. "You know, just because Mr. I'm-as-interesting-as-a-bio-book Barton hasn't asked you out doesn't mean he doesn't like you. The guy's just shy."

                "And how can you be so sure of that?" Quatre asked, not bothering to look up from where he was leaning against the sill. "Did he tell you that?"

                "Nope," she replied. "Woman's intuition. Besides, if you like him, go tell him!"

                "It's not that simple," Quatre moaned, banging his head on the wooden sill. "Kathy, tell me how did you and Ala end up together?"

                "How did that happen?" she asked. "Well… HEY! Look at the time, it's time for RK, I've gotta get downstairs before Duo gets there! Bye!" then she quickly left the room before Quatre could even process what just happened.

                Then he smiled. So Kathy could actually get embarrassed when talking about Ala and her? Interesting…

                Someone knocked on his door and he looked up, expecting Kathy back to pester him all night.

                Trowa poked in his head and Quatre's smile froze. He didn't know Trowa was still at the mansion. He thought the stoic young man had already left for home. He just stared at him, not blinking and completely unaware that his companion was staring at him as well.

                "Uh, Quatre?" Trowa asked, his voice a little shaky from having Quatre stare at him like he was some kind of turkey about to be devoured at the thanksgiving feast. 

                Quatre shook his head and blinked. "Huh? What is it, Trowa? Did you want anything?"

                The young man nodded ever lightly and Quatre's breath hitched. Trowa just looked absolutely handsome. There was nothing else Quatre wanted to do other than grab him and kiss him breathless.

                "I was just wondering if I left my bio book with you? I needed it to study for the quiz tomorrow," the green-eyed man said.

                Quatre's eyes were hazy and unseeing, in his mind, slowly touching Trowa's cheek and leaning close to him…

                "Quatre?"

                "The bio book! I've got it here… somewhere… let me just look around for it," the blond said, looking around, under his bed before handing Trowa a book, "accidentally" brushing his hands with Trowa's. He blushed and prayed the dim light of the room won't allow Trowa to see the red coloring his cheeks.

                "Thanks. I'll be going now," Trowa said before moving and heading for the door. 

                Quatre could only look and stare at his retreating back. And he made his decision. He's gonna make Trowa his, no matter what!

                And thus the start of Quatre's long and torturous Calvary of having Trowa as his lover.

~*~*~*~

                Quatre shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He glanced at Trowa who was walking in ahead of him. The plan was simple. Lead Trowa to a deserted room and confess his love for him. Simple, right?

                Trowa paused in front of the science lab and Quatre smiled at him, feeling himself blush in anticipation. The lab will surely be empty, so that means they've got it all for themselves. Perfect opportunity.

                When he opened the door, he was greeted by loud chattering coming from a whole class of annoying sophomores. Quatre's eyes widened. "What're they doing here?"

                "Didn't you hear? The doors of the class II-A got locked and nobody has the spare key, it seems like Kathy ditched school and didn't leave the key."

                A vein in Quatre's forehead could be seen popping. "Really!" *Pop* Kathy's gonna pay for this! Of all days to ditch school—WHY TODAY?

                "Let's go back to our room now then," Quatre said cheerfully, smiling bright, forcing himself not to shout at the sophomores who were ruining his chances with Trowa. 

                Trowa shrugged and they walked back on, Quatre clenching and unclenching his fists as they walked, leaving Trowa to wonder if Quatre's been having problems lately.

~*~*~*~

                Quatre sighed and grudgingly made his way to the literature section of the silent library still peeved at the chance he missed at the lab.

                He noticed Trowa was there, standing and retrieving a book from the shelf. He grinned. NEW CHANCE!

                He slowly approached him, feeling his heart flutter in nervousness. This is it; it's now or never. "Trowa," he said in a low voice, feeling himself blush.

                Trowa turned, surprised by the sudden appearance of Quatre. The book he was reaching for toppled, him missing it, causing other books near it to fall as well. 

                Quatre stared at the books on the floor in horror. Nearly a whole row was empty, all its content on the floor, lying on Trowa's feet.

                The librarian came and asked them to put the books back in place and be quiet. Quatre grinned sheepishly at Trowa and started putting the books back. 

                Damn it! What's this? Chances-ruined day? Is this day cursed or what? Quatre thought irritably, putting the books back to its shelf.

                Again, Trowa is left to wonder why Quatre's mumbling to himself. He shakes his head and proceeds to put back books as well. 

~*~*~*~

                Quatre sighed and threw himself on his over-sized bed, grumbling and sighing. "Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Is there some unknown force above that doesn't want me together with Trowa or something?"

                Kathy knocked on his door and he groaned. "It's open."

                She walked in and smiled. "So how was it?"

                "It didn't go well at all! Every chance I got was ruined! First, thanks to your class-ditching spree, the lab-confession was cancelled. And the library didn't work out either."

                She held up her hands and shrugged. "Hey, I'm sorry I took the wrong day to cut classes but you didn't tell me. Besides, how hard should it be? Just tell him how you feel and that's it."

                "Is that how you and Ala ended up together?" he asked.

                She blushed. "Umm… something like that. Anyway, I'm leaving now, I've got geom to study for. Bye." And she left the room, feeling her face burn. 

                Quatre smiled. "Unreal. Kathy's actually embarrassed and BLUSHING." Quatre sighed and sat up. "Fine, so personal, human-to-human contact doesn't work," he said aloud. "Then I suppose it's time to move on to phase two of the mission. 

                Ala peeked in Quatre's room after five minutes of knocking with no answer. "Quatre?" she called out, looking around the room for any sighs of the blond Arab. "Dinner's… what are you doing?"

                Quatre crumpled what seemed to him his hundredth paper for the night. "This isn't working! It's too cheesy! I'm getting goosebumps all over!"

                Ala eyed the heaping pile of crumpled stationery on the floor and sighed. "Maybe calling him would work better?" she suggested. "That way you'll be saving trees."

                Quatre's head snapped up and he grinned. "That's right!" he hastily grabbed the phone on his nightstand and dialed Trowa's number. 

                "Hello?" answered the familiar voce that always seemed to take Quatre's breath away. And of course, no breath, no air; no air, no sound. No sound, no words. Quatre slammed the phone down and met Ala's questioning look. 

                "I couldn't do it. I—I can't! Damn it, WHY CAN'T I CALL HIM!" Quatre shouted, clutching his head and shaking it violently. "WHY, WHY, WHHHYYYY!

                Ala sweatdroppped and shrugged. "You know, there's always the voice mail thing? Or maybe you can record a confession and then just give it to him?" she suggested. "Well, I'm going down now before nothing's left of our dinner, Kathy's really hungry tonight so I suggest that if you're hungry, hurry up before everything's gone."

                Quatre frowned. "I'll be down in a few seconds. Thanks," then Ala left, leaving Quatre to rummage through his room for blank tapes and his recorder. 

                Few hours later, tape after tape, film after film can be seen strewn all over Quatre's once neat and tidy room. Quatre threw yet another tape across the room and groaned. "This is NOT working at all!" his shoulders sagged and he tried not to cry. Why was everything being so hard?

                Kathy knocked on the door and went in without waiting for an answer. "I brought dinner, I figured you'd be needing it. So how's the recording thing doing? Did you confess to him you'd love nothing else than to have hot, steaming sex with him?" she giggled. 

                Quatre shook his head from under the pillows he buried his head. "No. I can't do it."

                "Well, is there something you CAN do?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Nothing's gonna happen if all you do is bury your face under that pillow."

                "I alwedy twied," was the muffled reply. "I willy can't dowit. I can't twell wim how I willy feel."

                "I wonder why," she sighed. "Okay, I'm not gonna ask if this is the first time you've felt this way because the answer's obviously yes. So what're we gonna do about it?"

No answer. 

                Kathy sighed. Ala's right. Quatre needed a pro to help him. "I'll help you. If you're willing to do exactly as I tell you."

                Quatre felt a twinge of fear for a second. Kathy could be like Duo in many ways, that included insane ideas. Is he willing to sacrifice his sanity to be with Trowa? 

                He took a deep breath and nodded. "Help me. I'll do as you say."

                Kathy grinned and Quatre felt his fear turn for the worse. Would things be easier now or things just got worse?

                Ala walked in the room and sighed. "Kathy, I hope you're not planning on ruining Quatre's chances with Trowa." She said, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning against the door.

                Kathy glared at her. "What? I'm trying to HELP them, not ruin things. And you'll see just how great my matchmaking talents are. Just wait and see."

~*~*~*~

                "Are you positive I won't be making a fool of myself?" Quatre asked for the hundredth time that afternoon and Kathy could only roll her eyes in response.

                "What did I tell you about doubting my talent in the field of love?"

                "That you're the expert, you were born under a lucky star and any couple you've set up ended up together," was Quatre's exasperated reply. "Are you positive this'll work?"

                "Positive, as the fact that there won't be any raining that'll happen soon. Now remember the plan, it's simple. You talk to him, make him a little nervous, so you'll both feel nervous—but don't feel too nervous for your own sake—then tell him how you feel. Or kiss him breathless if that works better for you. You decide."

                Quatre nodded and took a deep breath. They were outside the gym where Trowa was playing basketball alone. "I think I can do it."

                "Now go in there and claim him yours!" Kathy cheered and Quatre smiled. "Is this how you and Ala ended up together?"

                She looked away and blushed. "GO!" 

                He sighed and stood up from behind the bushes where they were hiding and slowly made his way to the gym's door.

                He found Trowa shooting the ball and Quatre couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster. "I can do it, I can do it, I can do…" he chanted to himself quietly as he approached the green-eyed youth. 

                Trowa was about to release the ball when Quatre tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at him, surprised. "Oh, hi, Quatre. I didn't hear you."

                No talking, he decided. There's a bigger possibility of messing up when he talked so he should just make Trowa nervous. He leaned closer, not really intending to kiss him, just… leaned closer he rested his head on Trowa's chest. 

He felt Trowa freeze and Quatre felt his determination waver. He slowly took a step back and suddenly ran away from him, feeling his face burn. He rushed out of the room faster than Trowa could say, "Quatre?"

                Once in the safety of the guy's comfort room, he shook his head and took long deep breaths. That was stupid, it didn't work the way Kathy said it would. 

                Outside the window, rain poured down heavily. 

~*~*~*~

                We see a chibi-Quatre in his room, posting a Manila paper on one side of his wall. He clenched his fists and we can see the red, angry aura forming and hovering around our kawaii pilot. This is the power of analysis coming from one of the feared gundam pilots! ^__^

                He took his red marker and started marking various things and after doing this, he sighed. Then he started laughing rather diabolically.

Strategy 1 

Science Lab

FAILED

Library

FAILED

Love Letter

FAILED

Recorded Confession

AS EXPECTED,

FAILED

Strategy 2- 

(with Kathy's help)

Making him nervous then confess

FAILED

                Quatre gripped his marker tightly it split in half. "So many failures, but that'll change soon! I still have about three lines free in my table and then—I'll confess to him, SUCCESS!" and again, he started laughing diabolically.

~*~*~*~

                Kathy glanced at Quatre at the corner of her eye and sighed. The poor guy's not making any progress with lover boy. It's time for drastic movements. 

                After the final bell rang, she waited until everyone had gone home before cornering Trowa. She tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up. 

                She exhaled loudly and smiled. "I think Quatre's waiting for you at the garden. I think he said something about meeting you there?" she smiled innocently.

                Trowa nodded and left, going to the direction of the school's garden where Quatre was waiting for his friend. 

                "I wonder why Kathy asked me to meet her here," Quatre mused aloud. "Maybe she figured a new way of letting Trowa know about how I feel." 

                Suddenly he saw Trowa moving toward him, he looked around and tried to pinch himself, making sure he wasn't dreaming. What's Trowa doing here? 

                Then it hit him. Kathy planned this all along! He could just hug her. Thank Allah he had such a good friend. 

                Trowa smiled at him, that rare smile that always made Quatre's day bright even if everything else seemed wrong and bleak. "Trowa! What're you doing here?"

                "Didn't you tell Kathy to tell me to meet you here?" he asked, puzzled. 

                Quatre blushed. "Uh… yeah, I did. Why don't we take a walk along the garden, ne?"

                Trowa nodded and they started walking along the lavish garden, which was one of the school's pride. Then it struck Quatre. They were alone!

                Suddenly, he grabbed Trowa's shoulder and looked straight into his forest-green eyes. How he'd love to drown in those deep emerald eyes. It's now or never. He opened his mouth but before the words got out, the crackling of the mike signaled that someone was using the PA thing. 

                "Master Quatre?" it was Rashid. 

                Quatre's head dropped, his arms falling on his sides. Trust the Maganacs to ruin his one chance with Trowa. 

                A chibi-Kathy can be seen strangling the forty men one by one inside a small room. "Stupid! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!"

                Quatre glanced at his left and realized they were alone at the backseat of his father's limousine. He glanced left and right and saw most of his men were asleep, tired from all the beating they received from Kathy earlier that afternoon. 

                Then he took yet another deep breath, preparing to tell Trowa the things he'd been keeping a secret from him. 

                "Trowa, listen..." he said shakily. "I know you've always treated me as a best friend but... I think—I thinki'minloveiwhtyou!" he said, rushing and feeling his cheeks burn.  

                He gave Trowa a hopeful smile and realized to his horror Trowa was asleep. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and he hit Trowa on the head. "Baka!"

~*~*~*~

                "This is the last straw," Kathy said. "Here's a list of the styles of courtship I gathered. Maybe this'll help," she handed him a piece of paper. 

                Quatre took the paper and started reading the information Kathy gave him. 

                "The Many styles of Courtship," he read aloud. Kathy winked before exiting his room, leaving him to read the paper by himself. [1]

                "STYLE ARABO. Gifts? You don't feel courted so much as he bought. Depending on his bank account, he gives you anything from a rose any week to a car everyday."

                "Hmm… I AM an Arab. I can definitely afford to buy him a car everyday. But… I really don't think Trowa's the type to spend on." He read on. 

                "BULOY EFFECT. [2] I will die for you, I will crawl on the ground you walk, lick every toe on your feet. Mamamatay ako kung wala ka, sagutin mo na ko, pls." (I'll die if you're gone, please say 'yes'.) hmm… I really can't see myself licking Trowa's toes…" he wrinkled his nose. "But if it'll make things better between us, why not?" 

                "ROBIN PADILLA STYLE. [3] The pose, the cigar, the leather jacket, the I-don't-give-a-damn-look. If you actually like this guy, he'll make you beg before he shows it."

                "I think I remember seeing a leather jacket hanging on Trowa's closet before," he thought aloud. "But I don't think he's into smoking. Do you really think he feels the same way? He just doesn't want to tell me?" he asked himself. 

                "MAGKA-_IBIG_-AN. [4] someone introduces him to you, he starts to hang around a lot, soon he's your best friend then you're boyfriend." Quatre frowned. "There's something familiar about this situation."

                "BALAGTAS de AMORSOLO. [5] He expresses love in poetry, paintings, sculptures and other art forms. He captures the best thing about you in this work." He shook his head. "This is more like me."

                "THE CASANOVA. He makes you feel like a lady—(you can see Kathy's handwriting:) in your case, gentleman—taking your hand when you're about to take a big step. Opening doors, pulling your chairs back and not letting you fall when you sit."

                Quatre turned red at the memory of falling on the stairs because Trowa wasn't able to catch him when he took a big step. Obviously, he's not exactly as the person who wrote it as a Casanova. 

                Quatre sighed. "Nothing seems to fit," he complained to nobody in particular. He threw himself on his bed and buried his face under his pillows. Maybe he shouldn't tell Trowa how he feels. Maybe he shouldn't have been feeling that way in the first place. 

                Quatre sighed, opting to sleep on it, knowing he can't do anything about it anyway. 

                Kathy woke up with the loud banging coming from Ala's room next to hers. Ala was banging on Quatre's wall, whose room was next to the Chinese girl's. "Quatre! Shut up!"

                Kathy strained her ears and soon discovered Quatre was actually groaning in his sleep. 

                "Must... tell... him… must… tell ... him… soon…." Quatre groaned, tossing and turning in his sleep. 

                Ala grumbled and buried her head under the pillows, hoping to drown out Quatre's groaning. "God! I hope he confesses soon. I don't know how much more groaning I can take."

~*~*~*~

                Kathy grabbed Quatre on his way to the gym where Trowa was again practicing his shooting—not that he needed to. "Here," she shoved a piece of paper on his hands and pushed him inside. "Don't think, just make him look at you and read the pick-up lines written on the paper." Then he was pushed inside, feeling as though he was about to tumble if not for Trowa's arm, which was holding him. 

                Quatre took a deep breath. Kathy was right, no more thinking, just go for it!

                "Trowa, I need to tell you something. It's really important and I really mean it so please listen?" 

                Trowa nodded. "You know I always listen to you."

                Quatre nodded and opened the paper Kathy had thrust in his palm. "I don't know when I started feeling this way but this is how I see you," he read the crumpled paper on his hand, not daring to look into Trowa's eyes. 

                "You're like my asthma, you take my breath away. You're like my dandruff I can't get you out of my head. You're like my car, you drive me crazy. You're like my postizo [6], I can't smile without you." It seemed as if Quatre was indeed NOT thinking until the last moment. 

                 He blushed, looking on the ground, feeling red creep all over his face, all over his body. Damn that Kathy! Instead of helping, she only helped him make a fool of himself! What lame pick-up lines they were. He didn't dare look at Trowa now, he was sure the young man was thinking he was nuts. 

                He was surprised to when he felt arm circling his waist and felt Trowa moved closer to him. "I feel the same way," was Trowa's quiet acceptance. 

                And Quatre felt a wide grin spread across his face. No words were needed to be spoken they understood each other perfectly. Quatre pulled back slightly and stared into Trowa's eyes. "Love you," he said softly, hopefully. 

                Trowa nodded and leaned closer to kiss him. "Love you too."

Fin

===

Notes:

[1] The Many Styles of Courtship- I just thought it'd be funny for the fic. It had the disadvantages and disadvantages of having those kinds of suitors. ^_^ I only wrote the descriptions. 

[2] Buloy Effect—buloy is a term we Pinoys use for someone who's…. like a sap? ^_~ the kind that commits suicide if you say no (that was the disadvantage of having a suitor like that)

[3] Robin Padilla, he was like this famous action star here in the Philippines? *rolls eyes* I was never really a fan of him, he was given the title: Bad Boy. 

[4] Magkaibigan- tagalog word for FRIENDS. Magka-IBIG-an —ibig, love. 

[5] Balagtas de Amorsolo—Balagtas is this really ancient writer/poet man in the 1800's. Amorsolo's… I think a sculptor? Or was he an architect? I think if I remember correctly from my Histo class, he designed a building? A think it had some historical significance. Oh, well. It just rpoves I need top brush up on my History.

[6] postizo—I forgot the English term so I can't translate it well. -_- It's what we call false teeth. ^_^ I got it! DENTURES.

Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own them, don't sue.


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